Apparatus for sorting machine elements, &amp;c.



C. T. MOR'EY.

APPARATUS FOR sormm; MACHINE ELEMENTS, &c.

A APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1919. 1,341,278. A

Patented May 25,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEETI T217 MAW c. T. MOREY.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING MACHINE ELEMENTS, &c.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. l7, I919. I 1,341,278, Patented May 25, 1920.

4 SHtE1SSHEET 2.

By 2%; .qwwgw d'ttya.

C. T. MOREY. APPARATUS FOR SORTING MACHINE ELEMENTS, m.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17. I919.

Patented May 25, 1920.

4 SHtE'lS-ShEET 3.

C. T. MOREY.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING MACHINE ELEMENTS, 8L0. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17,1919.

1,341,278. A i Patented May 25, 1920.

4 SHEEJ S---SHEE T 4.

A A jvezzi07f, 67668667 Z' 11 1737 6 CHESTER T. MOREY, OF PROVIDENCE,RHODE ISLAND.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING MACHINE ELEMENTS, 8w.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented May 25, 1920.

Application filed November 17, 1919. Serial No. 338,618.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER T. MoRnY, a citizen of the United. States,and resident of Providence, in the county of Providence and State ofRhode Island, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forSorting Machine Elements, &c., of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a device whereby machine elements or the likeare mechanically selected and, as selected delivered in a predeterminedmanner.

In the process of machining various machine elements, and in theassembly of such elements after completion, it is often necessary'thatthe elements be delivered in a certain predetermined position either forfurther machining or for assembly, and that imperfect elements beeliminated. When such elements are delivered in bulk the processheretofore used of correctly placing them manually or of eliminatingimperfect elements by hand picking is slow, expensive and ofteninaccurate.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide efiicientmechanical means whereby machine elements or the like when v received inbulk, as for instance, by being simply shoveled into a hopper, may beselected according to the characteristics of the elements, and elementspresenting similar characteristics delivered together, but separatefromelements presenting other characteristics.

Such a machine is obviously capable of many varied uses, certain ofwhich may be enumerated. It may be used to separate elements with convexsurfaces from those having flat surfaces, or to separate larger elementsfrom smaller elements. It is thus capable of use to separate elementscorrectly shaped or sized, or both, from those imperfect either in sizeor shape.

The machine is further designed, when used in connection with machineelements having different faces, to deliver those elements presentingone face separately from those presenting another face. The separatedelivery devices may be so joined that all elements are finallydelivered together, but all faced in the same manner.

The particular embodiment which has been specifically shown herein forthe purpose of illustrating the invention, has been desigirged toreceive in bulk, nuts or nut blan or the like and to deliver them forfurther machining or for use, all in a predetermined and uniformposition.

As has been brought about above, it is ob vious that the invention ismuch broader in scope than the particular embodiment illustrated in thedrawings and hereinafter more specifically described;

Referring now to the drawings, which illustrate this one embodiment ofmy invention:-

Figure l is a vertical sectional end view partly in elevation Fig. 2 isa similar view from the side Fig. 3 is a plan view from above, the hopper being omitted;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line H of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan -view of the selecting device with the shutter open;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the shutter closed;

Fig. 7 is a detail view partly in section showing the selector cavityand plungers with a nut presented with its convex surface toward thecavity; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 7, but with a nutpresented with its flat surface toward the selector cavity.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the selecting device issuitably mounted on a table having the legs 9, 10, the cross brace 11and top 12.. Power is received by the pulley 13, keyed to the shaft 14,which shaft has the cam wheel 15 secured thereto by the set screw 16,and has upon its end the bevel gear 17. I The shaft is secured below thetable by the shaft hangers 18 and 19. The bevel gear 17 is in mesh withthe bevel gear 20, which latter gear is keyed to the vertical shaft 21.This shaft carries at its upper end a bearing collar 22 held thereto bythe set screw 28. This collarrests upon a bearing plate 24. Below thisbearing plate the shaft 21 carries a cam disk 25, fastened. thereto bythe set screw 26 as is most clearly shown in Fig. 3. This cam disk isprovided upon its upper surface with a circular raceway concentric withshaft 21, the raceway being surrounded for approximately 270 of itscircumference by the crescent shaped raised cam guide 27. Secured to thelower surface of the cam disk is a conveyer lug 28.

Above the cam dish: is the cam operated lug 29, carried by the arm 30.which arm is secured to the shaft 31 by the set screw 82.

Referring now particularly to 5+ and It d U? lock nut 61 6, the shaft 31has attached to its lower end the bell-crank lever 33. The arm 33 ofthis bell-crank lever has a slot 34 through it. Working in this slot isthe shutter operating lug 35, which lug is fastened to the selectorshutter 36. Attached to the shutter operating lug 35 is the tension coilspring 37, the other end of which is fastened under the table top by astaple 38.

The opposite arm 33 of, the bell-crank lever 33 carries an adjustablecontact screw 39 held in place by the lock nut 40. This contact screwbears upon "the lever 41. The lever 41 is free to turn upon the studbolt 42 whichis secured to the under side of the table. The thrust. stud43 bears against the lever 41, and is carried by the driven thrustplunger 44. The driven thrust plunger is most clearly shown in Fig. 7and comprises cylindrical end portions 44* and- 44 and a -flatrectangular center portion 44 which is pierced at 44 to allow the shaft21 to pass up through it without interfering with the limitedlongitudinal motion of the driven thrust plunger. The cylindricalportion 44 has in its end a cup-shaped recess 45 in which recess iscarried a compression spring 46. The opposite end of the spring abuts aainst the base of arecess 49 in the half 4 of the interior circularguide 4748. The elements 47-48 are cut away at 47 and 48 to form arectangular opening of sufficient size to permit longitudinal play ofthe rectangular portion 44 of the driven thrust plunger. The portion 44of the driven thrust plunger passes through a cylindrical passage 50 inthe element 48, the cylindrical passage terminating in the center of thecup-shaped selector cavity 51.

Located concentrically with the interior guide 47-48 is theiexternalguide ring 52 spaced therefrom to form the selector channel 53. .Theexternal guide ring is broken opposite the selector cavity. Placed abovethis break is a feed chute 54 leading from a feed hopper 55.Operating-through this break in the external guide ringv is the springpressed head 56 of the driving thrust plunger 57. Connected to thespring pressed head 56 is the retaining rod 58 about which is-placedthecompression spring 59. The

end of the retaining rod 58 extends through the rear of the main portionof the plunger and has thereon the adjusting nut 60 and Extending fromthe lower surface of the driving thrust plunger 57 is the 'actuatorlug62 which rides in the cam groove 63 on the cam wheel 15.

Located in the bottom of the selector channel 53 is the selector opening'64 leading'to the selector chute 65. Spaced approximately 180 from theselector opening 64 isthe secondary opening 66 leading to the chute 67.The selector chute and the chute 67 join to form the delivery chute 68.

mamas 'head 56 clears the receiving chute 54 as shown in Fig. 6. Thefeed column of nuts 69-69, shown in Fig. 4, drops down until thelowermost nut is in front of the head 56. Further rotation of the camwheel 15 serves to press forward the, driving thrust plun er 57 by meansof the actuator lug 62. The head 56 moves the nut forward into theselector channel and presses it against the selector cavity 51, andtheconformation of the cam groove 63 is such as to maintain itpressedforward during a portion of the rotation of the cam wheel 15.

The continuation of the rotation of the cam wheel 15 serves to againretract the driving selector shaft. Simultaneously the cam disk 25 isrotated by the shaft 21 which is connected to the shaft 14 by the gearwheels 17 and 20. The conveyer lug 28 is in Fig. 8, the contour of thecavity is such as to prevent contact between the nut and cylindrical end44 of the driven thrust plunger 44. The selector opening 64 is normallyuncovered since the spring 37 holds the selector shutter 36 retracted.This spring also, through the bell-crank lever 33, shaft 31, and lever30,-normally holds the lug 29 in the position shown'in Fig. 3 and it isnot acted upon by the cam guide 27. Therefore, if'the nut is advancedwith its flatface forward it falls through the selector opening 64 intothe selector chute 65.

If, however, the nutf is advanced with its convex surface forward asshown in Fig. 7, it'bears against the end 44 of the driven thrustplunger 44, and the spring 59 in the driving thrust plunger. having agreater resistance to compression than'the spring 46 in the driventhrust plunger, the latter spring is compressed and the driven, thrustplunger is moved inwardly.

In moving inwardly the driven thrust plunger carries with it the-thruststud 43 which rotates the lever 41, the lever 41 in turn moves outwardlythe adjacent arm 33 of bell-crank lever 33, which through the shaft 31,moves outwardly the lever 30 carrying with it the'stud 29. The cam disk25 is at this moment in the position shown in Fig. .3. The movementoutward of the lug 29 is sufficient and the conformation of the camgroove 63 maintains it moved outward long enough so that when therotation of the disk continues in: a counter-clockwise direction, thelug passes outside the point 27 of the cam ide 27 and the outwardmovement of the ever 30 is continued by the thrust of the cam guideagainst the lug. This movement of the lever 30 is communicated to thebell-crank by the shaft 31 and moves inwardl the arm 33 thereby closingthe selector s utter 36 by means of the shutter operating lug 35, asshown in Fig. 6.

Thus when the nut is presented with its convex face forward it cannotdrop into the selector opening 64, since that opening will be closed,and the cam guide 27 is of sufficient length to maintain it closed untilthe nut has been moved over the shutter by the conveyer lu flhe V, nutwill be carried around by t e conveyer lug until it falls through thesecondary opening 66 into the chute 67;

When the stud 29 passes beyond the end 27 of the cam guide 27, it isreturned to'its normal position by the spring 37 which also retracts theshutter 36 to again uncover the selector opening 64. The operationcontinues as before, one nut being de-, livered'at each rotation of theshaft 14.

It will be noted that although the nuts delivered through the selectoropening were presented with the opposite face forward from thosedelivered through the secondary opening, nevertheless, since these twoopenings are spaced 180 apart the two lines of nuts when they join inthe delivery chute 68 will be faced the same way, all with the flat sideup.

I claim:

*1. Apparatus of the class described including a selector mechanismcomprising a drivihg plunger, a selector cavity associated therewith,said cavity being of such contour as to permit stock of predeterminedconformation to enter therein, a selector channel having a plurality ofdelivery openings therein and'means to deliver through one opening thestock which enters the cavity and to deliver the remainder of the stockthrou h another opening.

2. gpparatusof the class described compr'isinga member having a selectorcavity adapted to receive stock of certain characteristics, means forpresenting stock to said cavity and means for sorting the stockaccording to said characteristics, said sorting means having a partextending into said cavity so as to be actuated by the stock enteringthe cavity.

3. Apparatus of the class described including therein a selector devicecomprising a driving member and a selector cavity, a driven memberassociated with said cavity so as to be actuated by stock entering thecavity, and means controlled by said device in responseto stock enteringsaid cavity for effecting separate delivery of stock of diffcrentcharacteristics.

4. Apparatus of the class described 111- cluding therein a feed device,a selector de vice comprising a driving member and-a selector cavity, adriven member associated with said cavity so as to be actuated by stockentering the cavity and means for effecting separate delivery of stockof different characteristics controlled by the stock entering saidcavity, said means comprising a plurality of chutes, and a shutter forone of said chutes actuated by said selector device. a

5. Apparatus of the class described including therein a feed device, aselector device comprising a driving member, a selector cavity and adriven member extending into said selector cavity and means foreffecting separate delivery of stock of dilferent characteristics, saidmeans comprising a plurality of chutes, and a shutter for one of saidchutes actuated by said driven member.

6. Apparatusof the class described comprising a feed chute, a drivingmember operating at the end of said feed chute to press stock against aselector cavity adapted to admit stock of predetermined characteristics, a plurality of delivery openings and a driven member in saidselector cavity adapted to be operated by the pressure transmitted byselected stock to actuate a shutter over one of said openings.

7. Apparatus of the class described comprising a feed chute, a drivingmember at the end of said feed chute adapted to carry stock from saidchute into a selector oh'annel, a conveyer traveling in said selectorchannel adapted to convey said stock past a plurality of openings, andmeans whereby the stool: passes into one or another of said openingsdepending upon the characteristics of the stock.

8. Apparatus of the class described comprising a feed chute, a drivingmember at being adapted to carry stock into said se-e "lector channeland against said selector cavity, a plurality of openings in saidselector channel, a shutter over one of said openings operated by saiddriven member, and means for conveying said stock along said channelpast said openings.

9. Apparatus of the class described comprising a feed chute, a drivingplunger at the end of said feed chute, said plunger having a head heldnormally extended by a spring, a selector cavity opposite the end ofsaid plunger, a driven plunger normally urged inwardly through the baseof said selector cavity by a spring of less strength than the springextending the head of said driving plunger, a selector channel oneportion of which lies in front of'the selector cavity, a conveyer forpassing stock along said selector channel, a plurality of openings insaid selector channel, and means actuated by said driven plunger forclosing one end of said openings.

10. Apparatus of the class described, a selector mechanism'comprising adriving plunger, a selector cavity opposite the driving plunger of such'contour as to permit stock of predetermined conformation to enter thecavity, a selector channel having a plurality of openings therein andmeans to deliver through one opening the stock which enters the cavityand to deliver'the remainder of the stock through another opening. I

1].. pparatus of the class 'descrlbed 1ncluding therein a selectormechanism comprising a driving plunger, a selector cavity opposite thedriving plunger of such 0011- tour as to permit stock of predeterminedconformation to enter the cavity, a selector channel having a pluralityof openings therein, and means to deliver through one opening the stockwhich enters the cavity and to deliver the remainder of the stockthrough another opening, said means comprising a shutter over one ofsaid openings lector cavity.

actuated by a driven plunger in the se- 12. Apparatus of the classdescribed including therein a selector mechanism comprising a cup shapedselector cavity of such contour as to permit stock of predeterminedconformation to enter the cavity, means for presenting stock to saidcavity, and means for delivering the stock which enters the cavityseparately from the stock which does not enter the cavit 13. Apparatusfbr sorting machine elenients comprising a feed chute, a driving plungerat the end of said feed chute, a

'. selector cavity opposite the end of said drivsaid exit chutes, andmeansto ing plunger of such. contour'as. to admit one side of a machineelement and to exclude the opposite side, means for deliverdrivenplunger in said cavity adapted .to

receive pressure transmitted fromthe driving plunger throughwthe stockwhich enters the cavity, and when movedby'said pressure to actuate ashutter to cover one of present the stock first to said shuttercontrolled chute and then to the other chute chute is closed. 15.Apparatus of the class described comprising a feed chute, two exitchutes, a driving plunger at the end of said feed chute, a selectorcavit opposite said driving plunger, said cavity adapted to admit stockof predetermined conformation, a driven plunger in said cavity adaptedto receive pressure transmitted from the driving plunger through thestock which enters the cavity, and when moved by said pressure toactuate a shutter to cover one of said exit chutes, and a conveyer lugadapted to move the. stock past the opemngs of both said chutes.

16. Apparatus of the class described comprising a feed chute, two exitchutes, a driving plunger at the end of said feed chute, a selectorcavity opposite said driving plunger, said cavity adapted to admit stockof predetermined conformation, a driven plunger in said cavity adaptedto if the first -receive pressure transmitted from the driving plungerthrough the stock which enters the cavity, and when moved 'by saidpressure to actuate a shutter to cover one of said exit chutes, and aconveyer lug.

adapted to move the stock through a conveyer channel past the openingsof both said chutes, said conveyer channed turning the stock through 180between the passage over the openings to the first and second chutes.

17. Apparatus of the class described com prising a feed chute, a camoperated driving plunger at the end of said feed chute, said plungerhaving a head held normally extended by a spring, a selector cavityopposite the head of said plunger, a driven plunger extending throughthe base of said selector: cavity and normally held pressed inwardlythrough the base of said cavity by a spring of less strength than thespring extending the head of the driving plunger, a circular selectorchannel one portion whereof lies in front of the said selector cavity, aconveyer lug adapted to move around said selector channel, a pluralityof openings in the selector channel, a shutter for one of said openings,the shutter normally held in open position by a spring, and means forclosing said shutter, said means comprising a bell crank lever connectedto the shutter, the bell crank being operated by means of a rotating camthrown into operation by movement of the driven plunger.

Signed -by me at Boston, Massachusetts,

this 10th day of November, 1919.

CHESTER T. MOREY.

